Persian Empires History

  • Period: 700 BCE to 550 BCE

    Median Empire

  • 550 BCE

    Cyrus the Great establishes the Achaemenid Empire of Persia.

  • Period: 550 BCE to 330 BCE

    Achaemenid Empire

  • 539 BCE

    Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon; the Fertile Crescent is controlled by the Achaemenid Empire (The First Persian Empire).

  • 522 BCE

    Darius I (Darius the Great) succeeds to the throne of Persia after the death of Cambyses

  • 520 BCE

    Darius I of Persia fights the Scythians and loses

  • 449 BCE

    Peace is agreed on by Athens and Persia

  • 429 BCE

    Darius I of Persia invades Greece.

  • 404 BCE

    Persia conquers Egypt.

  • 330 BCE

    Persian Achaemenid Empire falls to Alexander the Great.

  • 247 BCE

    Diodotus achieves independence from Seleucid empire.

  • Period: 247 BCE to 224

    Parthian Empire

  • 139 BCE

    Mehrdad I conquers Mesopotamia and western Iran from the Seleucids.

  • 72 BCE

    Alan invasion and civil war:

  • 38

    Civil war in Parthian between Vardan and Godarz II.

  • 224

    Defeat of Ardvan IV by Ardashir brings era of Parthian rule to an end.

  • 224

    Sasanians overthrow the Parthians.

  • 224

    Reign of Ardashir I, who reformed the Persia by centralizing power, making Zoroastrianism state religion

  • Period: 224 to 651

    Sasanian Empire

  • 240

    Reign of Shapur I, who first brought the Sassanian empire to its peak.

  • 252

    Sasanid Empire invades the Kingdom of Armenia.

  • 387

    Roman emperor Theodosius I and Shapur III of Persia agree to formally divide Armenia between the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and the Sasanian Empire.

  • 651

    Arab Rashidun Caliphate conquers the Sasanian Empire.